Residential Real Estate

Buying a Property

We understand that buying a house or a condominium is, for the majority of people, the biggest investment that you will make in your lifetime. Whether you are a first time home buyer or an experienced real estate investor, we will efficiently guide you through this process to make it as painless as possible for you.

Getting Started:

Please do not hesitate to contact us anytime. Once you have bought a property, we will require the following:

A copy of your purchase contract. Please instruct your Realtor to fax or email us a copy as soon as possible;

Your mortgage instructions. Please provide our contact information to your financial institution and request that they provide us with your mortgage instructions as soon as possible;

Proof of insurance. If you are buying a house (or a condominium that requires you to have your own insurance) and obtaining mortgage financing, please have your insurance agent fax or email us a copy of an insurance binder letter confirming that you have insurance coverage effective on your possession date with the first loss payable in favour of your financial institution; and

Completed client ID form (Download here). We will advise you of the identification that we require from you prior to our meeting.

Meeting with You:

We will contact you to advise you of anything else we require and to schedule a meeting with you to sign your purchase documents. We will usually meet with you approximately one week prior to your possession date;

We will also advise you of the amount of the closing funds that we require from you in order to complete your transaction. All closing funds must be in the form of a BANK DRAFT made payable to Blake Nichol in trust. We require closing funds about one week prior to your possession date and we will normally have you bring in your bank draft to our meeting when you sign documents. Closing funds will also include payment of all legal fees and disbursements as well as any amounts required for property tax, home owners association fees, and any other adjustments; and

We will review and explain all purchase and mortgage documents so that you understand same before signing and the meeting will usually take about 30 minutes to an hour to complete. You will always be meeting with Blake personally or with another lawyer, except in very rare instances when you may be meeting with one of our senior real estate assistants.

Possession and Closing:

Most contracts provide that closing funds are to be delivered to the seller’s lawyer in trust on or before 12:00 noon on the closing date;

You will usually receive possession of the property at or around 12:00 noon on your possession date; however, sometimes it will be earlier than noon, and sometimes it will be later. You will normally receive the keys from your Realtor; and

We will thoroughly review the closing and possession process with you during our meeting.

Reporting to You:

Our goal is to provide you with our comprehensive reporting package within four to six weeks of your possession date, or earlier if possible; and

We will also return any excess trust funds that we are holding on your file to you with your reporting package by way of our solicitor’s trust cheque.

Selling a Property

Congratulations on the sale of your property!

Getting Started:

Please do not hesitate to contact us anytime. Once you have sold a property, we will require the following:

A copy of your sale contract. Please instruct your Realtor to fax or email us a copy as soon as possible;

A current Real Property Report. If you are selling a house or a bareland condominium, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can verify that you have a current Real Property Report in order to close your transaction;

Mortgage or line of credit reference number. Please provide us with your mortgage or line of credit reference number from your financial institution. This number will usually be located on your last statement from your financial institution or on your on-line banking; and

Completed client ID form (Download here). We will advise you of the identification that we require from you prior to our meeting.

Meeting with You:

We will contact you to advise you of anything else we require and to schedule a meeting with you to sign your sale documents. We will usually meet with you about one or two weeks prior to your possession date;

Please bring the following with you to our meeting:

Original Real Property Report(s) – please bring in all the copies that you have;

Photo identification – your current driver’s licence or passport;

Void cheque or bank account particulars – preferably of a financial institution with a branch in Calgary so that we can courier your net sale proceeds for direct deposit into your bank account;

Mortgage reference numbers if you have not already provided us with same; and

Your forwarding mailing address, phone number, and email address.

We will review and explain all sale closing documents so that you understand same before signing and the meeting will usually take about 20 to 30 minutes to complete. You will always be meeting with Blake personally or with another lawyer, except in very rare instances when you may be meeting with one of our senior real estate assistants.

Closing, Reporting, and Net Sale Proceeds:

Your transaction will typically close on the scheduled closing date; however, in Alberta, there are never any guarantees that the buyer will close on time or that you will receive your net sale proceeds on the same day. You should always therefore consider whether or not you require interim financing accordingly;

We are required to payout all financial encumbrances registered against your title from the sale proceeds. We will also payout the balance of the real estate commissions owing and legal fees and disbursements from the sale proceeds. We will provide you with copies of all payout and account statements with respect to these items with our reporting letter;

We will usually email you our reporting letter the same day that your sale transaction closes along with a detailed accounting of all trust funds;

The net sale proceeds will usually be forwarded for direct deposit to your financial institution by way of our solicitor’s trust cheque within one business day from the day that your sale transaction closes or earlier if possible. Your financial institution may place a “hold” on this deposit of your net sale proceeds, depending upon your relationship with your financial institution. You should contact your financial institution directly in this regard. You may also request to pick-up our trust cheque for your net sale proceeds so that you may have same certified which may assist you in avoiding a “hold” being placed on the funds by your financial institution. Once again, you should contact your financial institution directly with respect to this matter; and

We will thoroughly review the closing process with you during our meeting.

Refinancing/Mortgages

We represent clients who are refinancing their existing property or taking out a new mortgage on a property. We also represent clients for construction draw mortgages.

Please do not hesitate to contact us anytime regarding your specific mortgage transaction.

Transfers

We represent clients who are transferring title to a property from one person to another, adding a person to title, or removing a person from title.

Please do not hesitate to contact us anytime regarding your real estate needs.